Afghan militants enter Pakistan, kill soldier

PAKISTAN

Anwarullah Khan, Associated Press

Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Photo: Thir Khan, AFP/Getty Images

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A young wounded Pakistani man rests in a hospital in the town of Miranshah on July 4, 2011. Four Pakistanis including two children were wounded on Monday when a mortar shell fired from Afghanistan struck a village near the border, Pakistani security officials said. The shell hit Bangedar village in the Ghulam Khan district of North Waziristan, the region where America has long called on Pakistan to launch an operation against Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants. less

A young wounded Pakistani man rests in a hospital in the town of Miranshah on July 4, 2011. Four Pakistanis including two children were wounded on Monday when a mortar shell fired from Afghanistan struck a ... more

Photo: Thir Khan, AFP/Getty Images

Afghan militants enter Pakistan, kill soldier

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Khar, Pakistan --

About 60 Taliban militants crossed from Afghanistan into Pakistan and attacked a paramilitary checkpoint Monday, killing a soldier and sparking a gunbattle that lasted more than two hours, a government official said.

Such border unrest has raised tensions between the two countries over efforts to crack down on militant groups, including Taliban fighters and al Qaeda factions.

Pakistan has complained that militants coming from Afghan bases have killed at least 55 members of its security forces and tribal police over the past month. Afghan officials have complained that Pakistan has launched hundreds of rockets into eastern Afghanistan since May, killing at least 40 people.

In Monday's cross-border attack, Taliban militants used mortar and rocket fire to cover their advance into the Bajur tribal area of Pakistan, said Shah Nasim, a local government official. Soldiers were eventually able to push the militants back over the border into Afghanistan's Kunar province when reinforcements arrived, he said.

One soldier and two militants were killed, Nasim said.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, but claimed that 20 soldiers were killed. The Taliban often exaggerate the number of casualties in their attacks.

"Our men came from Afghanistan," Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

The Pakistan army denies it has intentionally fired rockets into Afghanistan, but acknowledges that several rounds fired at militants conducting cross-border attacks may have landed over the border.

Pakistan also blames the United States for the recent attacks, because many American forces pulled out of Kunar over the past year to focus on more populated areas in Afghanistan. The United States, however, says Pakistan has failed to launch an offensive in the North Waziristan tribal area, from where militants regularly attack NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Soldier killed

A missing British soldier was confirmed dead Monday in an apparent insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan, hours after British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in the country to hail improved security and announce plans for the withdrawal of hundreds of his nation's troops.

Britain's Defense Ministry confirmed that the soldier, who was reported missing early Monday from a base in central Helmand province, had been found shot to death after a huge search effort. His identity was not disclosed.